Craig Reed (Ben Addis)
https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/emm...eed-backstory/
Emmerdale launches a big storyline for Lydia Dingle this week as a face from her past arrives, but the new character was first mentioned a few years ago.
Show bosses have cast Ben Addis in the role of Craig Reed, who grew up in the same children's home as Lydia.
While this is the first time that Craig has appeared on screen, he previously had a name-check in July 2019 when Lydia's tragic backstory was revealed for the first time. If you need a quick refresher on this, then look no further.
2019 was a significant year for Lydia's character, as the show delved into her past.
The villagers were shocked when the remains of a baby were found at the local school while building work was taking place. Headteacher Jessie Dingle took part in a police press conference to announce the unsettling news to the local community.
Police investigations determined that the most likely candidate for the baby's mother was someone called Jenny Finn.
The school used to be the location for Hotten Grange children's home and Jenny had once lived there, before mysteriously running away in November 1990 at the age of 16.
A photograph of Jenny bore an uncanny resemblance to Lydia, which led to her secret being exposed.
Lydia gave a statement to the police and then chose to bravely confide in her boyfriend (now husband) Sam Dingle about her traumatic past.
Lydia ? then known as Jenny ? fell pregnant during her time at the children's home after being put into care by her mother.
Fearing the repercussions, Jenny chose not to tell anybody. Instead, she secretly prepared for the birth with help from a book she'd found at the library.
In a tragic turn of events, Jenny gave birth in the toilets at the children's home but was devastated when her baby son was stillborn.
Still feeling unable to confide in anyone, and wrongly blaming herself for the tragedy, Jenny wrapped up her baby boy before laying him to rest in some nearby woods.
She then ran away to start a new life, choosing Scarborough as her new home as it was the furthest she could get on a bus day saver.
While living in a bedsit at the seaside town, the traumatised teenager met a girl called Lydia Hart. The real Lydia died during her stay at the bedsit, so Jenny took her identity after finding her purse and birth certificate.
It was during her 2019 heart-to-heart with Sam that Lydia mentioned Craig for the first time.
Asked about the baby's father, Lydia told Sam: "Craig Reed it was. Got put next to him for bottom set Maths. Teacher was trying to stop me talking so much in class. I wish she'd sat me next to someone else.
"[Craig] was a bit of a drip, really ? harmless enough. I was daft and careless ? stupid mostly. When I found out I was pregnant, I thought they'd make me give it to someone else. Who'd let a 15-year-old in care keep a baby?"
After a chance reunion during a careers fair at The Hide, Craig will feature prominently on screen over the coming weeks as Lydia decides to accept a job offer from him.
As Craig works for a successful company and has a posh car, Lydia's stepson Samson Dingle is impressed by the village newcomer. However, Sam starts to feel increasingly pushed out as Lydia spends time with Craig.
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